Students May Judge Peers

Concils Propsosed To Enforce Rules

June 03, 1991|By RON SHAWGO Staff Writer

HAMPTON — A student advisory council believes establishing school honor councils may be the first step toward reinstating dances and other after-school activities curtailed in the past by persistent problems with troublemakers.

With the power to yank the student identification cards, the student judiciary panels could effectively stop students from attending functions if they violate rules, the student group believes.

Honor councils, once common nationwide, began to vanish in the 1960s, according to one educator.

The idea to revive the panels in middle and high schools, which has the backing of several top school officials, came out of meetings of the Hampton Youth Council, a group of 16 Hampton students that makes recommendations to City Council. The student group hopes to initiate the program this fall.

``One of the questions was, `What was there to do in Hampton for youths?' and we didn't have any answers,'' said Todd Pope, a junior at Kecoughtan High School and mayor of the council.

Pope said that while there are a ``multitude'' of activities for young children and adults, a handful of rowdies have all but forced the elimination of social gatherings for teen-agers.

``There's a lot of concern in our age group that we don't have many things to do,'' said Tammie Judge, a Hampton High School junior and corresponding secretary of the Youth Council. ``One of the reasons we can't do much is because of a disciplinary problem.''

By providing a self-policing mechanism, Pope and Judge said the group hopes to attract business sponsors for after-school get-togethers. They said they believe businesses have backed off sponsoring events because of troublemakers. Student IDs also could be used to receive discounts at participating businesses.

``If you have enough businesses to sponsor you, then there's no telling what you could do,'' Pope said.

Bob Croft, an assistant principal of Hampton High and a 1959 graduate of the school, remembers honor councils as effective bodies. But students began to lose interest in them in the 1960s as antagonism grew between students and teachers, he said.

``When it was not popular to rat on a friend ... a lot of the moral fiber of honesty versus dishonesty in school went by the boards,'' Croft said. ``I would love to see it reinstated, but it has to come from the kids, it can't come from us.''

The establishment of honor councils also has the backing of Kecoughtan Principal Dennis Gillikin, who sees them as a solution to the problem of troublemakers at parties.

``That's the only way of dealing with the issue of how we are going to know and how we are going to be sure'' of who can attend the activities, Gillikin said. ``I think it's a wonderful idea.''

The honor councils could be made up of student government leaders and Youth Council representatives, Pope said. They would hear disciplinary problems and decide whether a student should be banned from activities. Judge said the Youth Council is still developing a set of rules that students would need to follow.

School Board Chairman A.W. ``Pat'' Patrick III, who backs the proposal, said the panels could be used as the first body to hear disciplinary matters, such as an allegation of cheating. He said that, for instance, a panel could make a recommendation to a principal.

``I think the concept is an excellent one,'' Patrick said.

The Youth Council is requesting that plastic, laminated identification cards, similar to state drivers' licenses, be issued to high school and middle school students. Photos for the cards would be taken when student pictures are shot in the fall of each year.

Allen Davis, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said the school system is now working on the lamination process and that some students have the new IDs. He said cost should be minimal.